Carpet-stretcher



(No Model.)

' E. G. ELLWOOD.

CARPET STRETGHER.

WA m W2 i. w k W I'll/7755555 @J/W @Qa UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

EVERETT C. ELLlVOOD, OF GREENS FARMS, CONNECTICUT.

CARPET-STRETCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,318, dated February 19, 1889. Application filed October 29, 1883. Serial No. 289,416- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EVERETT C. ELL'WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greens Farms, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet-Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to produce a device of this class which shall be light, simple, and economical in construction, adapted to stretch all kinds of carpet, and requiring but a single person for stretching and laying. The important result accomplished by the present construction is that its operation is so simple and reliable as to render the services of skillful and strong carpet-layers wholly unnecessary even in laying heavy carpets. In order to accomplish these results, I have de vised the novel construction of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used to denote the several parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device as in use; Fig. 2, a plan view, the lever being removed; and Fig. 3 is a detail view showing in side elevation the construction of the tackdrawer, which is preferably made part of the lever.

The device consists of five castings and a flexible connection, which may be a leather strap, as shown in the drawings, or a chain, if preferred. The castings are so designed that they maybe cast complete and ready for'use, so that hand-finishing is almost entirely dispensed with and the work of assembling is reduced to the minimum. The castings are made of any suitable metal, ordinarily malleable iron. Brass or bronze may be used, if preferred.

1 denotes the base, which is provided with racks 2, the teeth of which incline forward, being vertical to the horizontal plane on their front faces, and a prong, 3,at the front, which is adapted to be driven into the floor sufficiently to hold the base in position in stretching a carpet. The grip consists of a pair of jaws, 4, pivoted together in the fashion of icetongs and provided with shanks 5, having eyes 6. The jaws may or may not be pro vided with teeth 7, and are preferably lapped past each other, as shown in Fig. '1.

S denotesa link or eye having lugs or trunnions 9 011 opposite sides thereof, which are adapted to engage the racks.

l0 denotes a flexible connection, preferably a strap made adjustable by a buckle, said strap passing through link 8, an d also through eyes (5 at the rear ends of the shanks. The shanks and eyes are so constructed and arranged relatively to each other that a pull upon. the strap acts to close the jaws together,

causing them to grip the carpet firmly.

11 denotes the pivot by which the jaws are secured together.

12 denotes the stretching-lever, which is provided with a point, 13, for engagement with the floor, and with a lug, l4,. on its face, which is adapted to engage the front of the link to prevent the latter from slipping upon the lever in making a long stretch. At the outer end of the lever I provide a hammer, 15, and a tack-drawer, (denoted by 10.) In practice the entire lever, hammer and all, is preferably cast in a single piece. As there is great wear upon the tack-drawer in use, I preferably make that in the form of a plate of steel and rivet it in place, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The jaws are made wide enough to get a firm grip upon the carpet, and when provided with teeth will catch between the threads of the carpet, but not sufliciently to tear it.

The operation is as follows: If the carpet is not a large one, a single stretch is all that is required. The base is laid upon the floor with its forward end against the base-board, the prong being driven into the floor by a blow of the hammer, it being understood, of course, that the carpet on the opposite side of the room has been tacked. The carpet on the free side is then folded over more or less, as may be required, and the fold placed between the jaws, the eye being drawn forward sufficiently to close the jaws upon the carpet and locked by engagement of the lugs with the racks. The lever is then passed through the link and given considerable inclination backward, the point engaging the floor and lug 14:, ordinarily engaging the link. The lever is then pressed forward, which of course carries the link and the jaws with it, thereby stretching the carpet to any extent that may be desired. Having stretched the carpet, it is usually stayed in place by two or three tacks, the stretcher removed, and the fold laid out and tacked in the ordinary manner, the stay-tacks being then removed.

In stretching a long piece of carpet, as in an aisle or hall, the piece may require one or two intermediate stretchings, the operation being substantially the same as before. A fold of the carpet is caught between the jaws and the prong in the base driven through the carpet into the floor. Having stretched the carpet in the manner already described, it is secured in place by stay-tacks, the stretcher removed, and the operation repeated again either intermediately or at the opposite side of the room, as already described. In practice the lower end of the lever is preferably curved slightly, as shown, to prevent it from slipping in use. It will be noticed that the device is self-locking after the carpet has been stretched. The lugs 9 upon the links pass readily over the teeth of the racks and engage the vertical faces of the teeth as soon as the stretching operation is completed. The

Y operator is thus left free to secure the stretched portion of the carpet by stay-tacks before the stretcher is removed. The combined lever and hammer, 011 being removed from the link, is used to drive the stay-tacks and to tack the carpet, the tack-drawer 16 being used to remove the stay-tacks after the carpet has been permanently tacked. in place. \Vhere the carpet fits closely and an additional stretching is required in the final fold in front of the stretcher, the point 13 of the lever may be used for this purpose in the ordinary manner.

It will of course be understood that the details of construction may be greatly varied without departing from the principle of my invention.

I claim 1. A carpet-stretcher consisting, essentially, of a base having racks and a prong for engagement with the floor, jaws which engage thecarpet, a link having lugs which engage the racks, a flexible connection between the jaws and the link, and a lever adapted to pass through the link, thereby stretching the carpet when the free end is forced forward.

2. The base having racks and a prong for engagement with the floor, and jaws which grip the carpet and are provided with shanks 5, in combination with a link having lugs which engage the racks, afleXible connection engaging the link and the shanks of the jaws, and a lever adapted to pass through the link and engage the floor, whereby when said lever is forced forward the jaws are tightened upon the carpet and the latter is drawn forward, thereby stretching it.

3. The base having racks and the jaws having shanks, as shown, in combination with the links having lugs engaging the racks, a

flexible connection engaging the link and the shanks of the j aws,and a pointed lever adapted to pass through the link, and having a lug, 1 1, on its face, which engages the link, as and for the purpose set forth.

l. The combination, with the base having racks, the jaws, and the link having lugs en- 1 gaging the racks, of a flexible connection engaging the link and the shanks of the jaws,

and a combined lever, tack-drawer, and ham- EVERETT (.1. ELLWOOD.

\Vitnesses: I

A. M. Woos'rnn, l-iERTHA E. LEE. 

